We report on the development of all-fiber active photoacoustic spectroscopy, where active photoacoustic effect is generated by embedding a micro-nano fiber inside a fiber laser resonator to exploit the evanescent field of the high intracavity power. Acetylene detection at 1530.37 nm was selected for gas sensing demonstration. With a small diameter of 1.1 μm, the tapped fiber exploited ~20% intracavity power for the evanescent-wave photoacoustic excitation, while only introduced a low intrinsic cavity loss of...

Abstract Background Tau-PET is a prognostic marker for cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, and the heterogeneity of tau-PET patterns matches cognitive symptom heterogeneity. Thus, tau-PET may allow precision-medicine prediction of individual tau-related cognitive trajectories, which can be important for determining patient-specific cognitive endpoints in clinical trials. Here, we aimed to examine whether tau-PET in cognitive-domain-specific brain regions, identified via fMRI meta-analyses, allows the prediction of domain-specific cognitive decline. Further, we aimed to determine whether tau-PET-informed...

Abstract Background This systematic overview was commissioned by England’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to assess the evidence on direct (previously ‘novel’) oral anticoagulants (OACs), compared with usual care, in adults, to prevent stroke related to atrial fibrillation (AF), and to prevent and treat venous thromboembolism (VTE). Specifically, to assess efficacy and safety, genotyping, self-monitoring, and patient and clinician experiences of OACs. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, ASSIA, and CINAHL, in October, 2017,...

Abstract Background Mountains of the world host a significant portion of all terrestrial biodiversity, and the region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) stands as one of the most remarkable mountain regions on Earth. Because many explosive radiations occurred there, the QTP is a natural laboratory which is ideal to investigate patterns and processes linked to speciation and diversification. Indeed, understanding how closely related and sympatric species diverged is vital to explore drivers fostering speciation, a...

Abstract Background Anticholinergic medications are drugs that block cholinergic transmission, either as their primary therapeutic action or as a secondary effect. Patients with dementia may be particularly sensitive to the central effects of anticholinergic drugs. Anticholinergics also antagonise the effects of the main dementia treatment, cholinesterase inhibitors. Our study aimed to investigate anticholinergic prescribing for dementia patients in UK acute hospitals before and after admission. Methods We included 352 patients with dementia from 17 UK...

Abstract Background Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are regarded as the "seed cells" for tumorigenesis, metastasis, recurrence and drug resistance. However, specific surface markers of CSCs of different origins have not been documented. Methods Single-cell sequencing was used to analyze the highly expressed genes in cancer stem cells of gastric cancer patients, and it was verified that AQP5 was specifically highly expressed in gastric cancer stem cells (GC-CSCs) in vivo and in vitro. The effect of...

Abstract Background Sedative agents may variably impact the stress response. Dexmedetomidine is a sympatholytic alpha2-adrenergic agonist mainly used as a second-line sedative agent in mechanically ventilated patients. We hypothesised that early sedation with dexmedetomidine as the primary agent would result in a reduced stress response compared to usual sedatives in critically ill ventilated adults. Methods This was a prospective sub-study nested within a multi-centre randomised controlled trial of early sedation with dexmedetomidine versus usual care....

Abstract Background Systematically screening for child anxiety problems, and offering and delivering a brief, evidence-based intervention for children who are identified as likely to benefit would minimise common barriers that families experience in accessing treatment. We have developed a short parent-report child anxiety screening questionnaire, and procedures for administering screening questionnaires, sharing screening outcomes with families, and offering and delivering a brief parent-led online intervention (OSI: Online Support and Intervention for child anxiety) through schools....

Background:Quetiapine is frequently prescribed to people with personality disorder diagnoses, but this is not supported by evidence or treatment guidelines.Aims:To examine associations between periods of quetiapine prescribing and self-harm events in people with personality disorder.Method:Self-controlled case series using linked primary care and hospital records covering the period 2007–2017. We calculated incidence rates and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for self-harm events during periods when people were prescribed (exposed to) quetiapine, as well as periods when they...

Abstract Background Despite the widespread use of the single item self-rated health (SRH) question, its reliability has never been evaluated in Chinese population. Methods We used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, waves 1–4 (2011–2019). In wave 1, the same SRH question was asked twice, separated by other questions, on a subset of 4533 subjects, allowing us to examine the test–retest reliability of SRH. In addition, two versions of SRH questions (the...

This collection contains simulated compensated phase history data (CPHD) files generated using the SARCASTIC v2.0 software.

ObjectivesTo use national, pre- and post-pandemic electronic health records (EHR) to develop and validate a scenario-based model incorporating baseline mortality risk, infection rate (IR) and relative risk (RR) of death for prediction of excess deaths.DesignAn EHR-based, retrospective cohort study.SettingLinked EHR in Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD); and linked EHR and COVID-19 data in England provided in NHS Digital Trusted Research Environment (TRE).ParticipantsIn the development (CPRD) and validation (TRE) cohorts, we included 3.8 million and 35.1...

Abstract Purpose We aimed to investigate the effect and significance of the rotation method with variable-angle anterior probe corrected for the depth of two kidneys on the determination of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in total and single kidneys by the renal dynamic imaging Gates method. Methods Seventy-two patients who underwent dynamic renal imaging by the rotation method and abdominal CT in our hospital were collected in the present study. CT scanning, rotation method, Tonnesen's formula,...

Abstract Background An important conceptual advance in health and the environment has been recognized that enzymes play a key role in the green processing industries. Of particular interest, chitosanase is beneficial for recycling the chitosan resource and producing chitosan oligosaccharides. Also, chitosan gene expression and molecular characterization will promote understanding of the biological function of bacterial chitosanase as well as explore chitosanase for utilizing chitosan resources. Results A chitosanase-producing bacterium TY24 was isolated and identified...

Abstract Objective Binge eating, loss of control eating and overeating often develop during late childhood or early adolescence. Understanding the presentation of binge eating as early as symptoms manifest and its preceding and concurrent factors is essential to hamper the development of eating disorders. This study examined the prevalence, concurrent and preceding factors (e.g. compensatory behaviors, emotional and behavioral problems) of subclinical binge eating symptoms in early adolescence. Methods Data from the population-based Generation R...

Abstract Objective Binge eating, loss of control eating and overeating often develop during late childhood or early adolescence. Understanding the presentation of binge eating as early as symptoms manifest and its preceding and concurrent factors is essential to hamper the development of eating disorders. This study examined the prevalence, concurrent and preceding factors (e.g. compensatory behaviors, emotional and behavioral problems) of subclinical binge eating symptoms in early adolescence. Methods Data from the population-based Generation R...

Abstract Social prescribing is a means by which clinical services can link individuals who have psychological, social and/or practical needs with non-clinical services within their local community. There is a lack of empirical evidence investigating whether social prescribing helps such individuals and which interventions are the most effective and accepted by them to address their loneliness. This meta-synthesis aimed to synthesise findings from qualitative studies exploring experiences of people (of any age) who participated in...

Abstract Social prescribing is a means by which clinical services can link individuals who have psychological, social and/or practical needs with non-clinical services within their local community. There is a lack of empirical evidence investigating whether social prescribing helps such individuals and which interventions are the most effective and accepted by them to address their loneliness. This meta-synthesis aimed to synthesise findings from qualitative studies exploring experiences of people (of any age) who participated in...

Abstract Background Vaccination is important in influenza prevention but the immune response wanes with age. The circadian nature of the immune system suggests that adjusting the time of vaccination may provide an opportunity to improve immunogenicity. Our previous cluster trial in Birmingham suggested differences between morning and afternoon vaccination for some strains in the influenza vaccine in older adults. Whether this effect is also seen in a younger age group with less likelihood of compromised...

ObjectivesSelf-compassion is the ability to be kind to oneself in adversity. This multidimensional construct is typically assessed by the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). In Chinese samples, there have been inconsistent psychometric findings that impede cross-cultural research. This study aimed to explore the factor structure of the Chinese version (SCS-C).MethodsTwo samples of young Chinese adults were recruited (Sample 1, N = 465, 141 men, Mean age [Mage] = 20.26; Sample 2, N = 392, 71 men; Mage...

Abstract Background Cervical screening using primary human papilloma virus (HPV) testing and cytology is being implemented in several countries. Cytology as triage for colposcopy referral suffers from several shortcomings. HPV testing overcomes some of these but lacks specificity in women under 30. Here, we aimed to develop and validate an automatable triage test that is highly sensitive and specific independently of age and sample heterogeneity, and predicts progression to CIN3+ in HPV+ patients. Results The...

Abstract Background Cervical screening using primary human papilloma virus (HPV) testing and cytology is being implemented in several countries. Cytology as triage for colposcopy referral suffers from several shortcomings. HPV testing overcomes some of these but lacks specificity in women under 30. Here, we aimed to develop and validate an automatable triage test that is highly sensitive and specific independently of age and sample heterogeneity, and predicts progression to CIN3+ in HPV+ patients. Results The...

Gender-typical play is observed throughout childhood for non-autistic children. However, there has been limited research into the gender typicality of autistic children’s play compared to that of non-autistic children. In a longitudinal population-based cohort, we compared gendered play behaviours in autistic and non-autistic children using standardised parent-report (30, 42 and 57 months) and child-report (8 years) data (N = 11,251). We observed no difference in gendered play behaviours between girls with or without autism at...

Objective:To compare organ involvement and disease severity between male and female patients with juvenile onset systemic sclerosis.Methods:Demographics, organ involvement, laboratory evaluation, patient-reported outcomes and physician assessment variables were compared between male and female juvenile onset systemic sclerosis patients enrolled in the prospective international juvenile systemic sclerosis cohort at their baseline visit and after 12 months.Results:One hundred and seventy-five juvenile onset systemic sclerosis patients were evaluated, 142 females and 33 males. Race, age of onset, disease...

Knowledge of the spatial organization of economic activity within a city is a key to policy concerns. However, in developing cities with high levels of informality, this information is often unavailable. Recent progress in machine learning together with the availability of street imagery offers an affordable and easily automated solution. Here, we propose an algorithm that can detect what we call visible establishments using street view imagery. By using Medellín, Colombia as a case study,...